Process for preparing a meat emulsion containing meat broth and product thereof

ABSTRACT

A method for preparing a product containing a continuous phase of heat set lean meat emulsion having dispersed therein a water-in-oil emulsion of a water-in-oil emulsion. The discontinuous phase has a continuous phase of fat and a discontinuous aqueous phase containing a gellable meat broth. A product prepared by the method is also disclosed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to meat products, including ground meat,having enhanced flavor delivery while still retaining highly desirableappearance, taste and cooking performance characteristics, and to amethod of making these products.

The prior art has adopted a number of approaches to improve theacceptability of selected meat products, for example, attempts have beenmade to reduce the fat and cholesterol content of prepared meatproducts. One such approach is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,023,104 wherethe desired results are obtained by simply extending conventionalproducts through the addition of crystallite aggregates of cellulose.The cellulose is inert and so the resulting product has less of eachingredient than the natural product. U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,515, in anotherapproach, prepares low-fat meat products by combining high levels ofskimmed milk or whole milk with comminuted lean meat. A low cholesterolsausage analog of the ground meat type using egg white as the heatdenaturable binder system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,134. Abacon analogue is similarly described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,164. U.S.Pat. No. 4,132,810 also deals with simulated bacon. U.S. Pat. Nos.4,089,981 and 4,844,922 deal with simulated products containing gellingagents.

Other attempts have been made to prepare low fat products utilizingtechnology which forces meat protein to bind increased quantities ofwater or which entail the use of cereal protein and/or carbohydrates andother carbohydrate hydrocolloids to act as agents which bind largerquantities of water in the product. The resulting products generallyhave an unacceptable texture and taste, being either overly wet or mealyin nature.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,151,290 and 4,943,445 deal with edible dispersions,used as spreads, containing various gelling agents.

The reduction of fat and cholesterol, without a substantial sacrifice inthe texture and flavor quality is described in commonly owned U.S. Pat.No. 4,904,496 incorporated by reference herein. In this patent, gelatinis employed with a specific emulsion system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has been found that a flavor enhanced meat product of excellenteating qualities is provided by preparing a heat set product having acontinuous phase of lean meat protein containing a discontinuous phasewhich in turn comprises particles of a water-in-oil type emulsion. Thecontinuous phase of the water-in-oil type emulsion is an edible fat, andthe discontinuous phase is a meat broth prepared by aqueous extractionfrom meat having a high percentage of connective tissue. By using a meatbroth as the discontinuous phase it is not necessary to employ gelatinas used in U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,496. In appropriate circumstances, thewater-in-oil emulsion can be employed as a stand alone product which canbe stored and used at a later time to prepare final meat products.

The meat broth in the water-in-oil emulsion is an aqueous solution ordispersion prepared by an aqueous extraction from meat which has a highpercentage of connective tissue. The broth may optionally contain,dissolved or dispersed in it, selected flavoring agents or salts suchas, for example, sodium or potassium chloride, or selected phosphates.The products of the present invention may also be low fat, lowcholesterol meat products. Thus, the products overall may have fatcontents in the range of 5% to 40%.

The major portion of the fat is dispersed throughout the lean meat asdroplets of a water-in-oil emulsion. The discontinuous phase of thiswater-in-oil emulsion is an immobilized aqueous meat broth prepared byaqueous extraction as described above. The meat broth may contain, ifdesired, salts and/or flavorants present at a level of about 0.1% to10%, preferably 0.1% to 8%.

The immobilized aqueous meat broth may serve as an encapsulating agentfor the dissolved or dispersed salt or flavoring agent which can then bedelivered directly to the taste receptors on the tongue duringmastication. At the same time, because the meat broth portion of thediscontinuous phase is most evident to the tongue during eating, theproducts of this invention also achieve enhancement of the normal meatflavors released during the mastication process even without added saltor flavor enhancers.

During the manufacture of these meat products the grinding/mixingprocess may, if desired, release soluble myosin into the continuousprotein phase which in turn encapsulates the discontinuous water-in-oilphase producing stable fat containing droplets throughout the continuousphase. The formation of this duplex type of emulsion can prevent weepageof either fat or the internally gelled or immobilized aqueous phase fromthe product. The formation of such a stable duplex emulsion also ensuresthat the product upon cook-up remains juicy, moist and succulent and hasa cooked texture resembling a product containing higher fat. The productalso has less shrinkage upon cook-up than is normally exhibited by lowerfat products.

The highly desirable products of the present invention may be providedby a method which includes the steps of:

(a) forming a water-in-oil emulsion by forming an aqueous gelled orimmobilized meat broth prepared by extracting meat with a highpercentage of connective tissue in an aqueous medium. Salt or anotherflavoring ingredient may be added if desired at a concentration up toabout 10%. If salt or other flavoring ingredient is used it will be usedin an amount sufficient to produce a desirable organoleptic effect andthus enhance the flavor of the product. In practice this amount isusually about 0.1% to about 10%. The meat broth is then combined with anedible fat to form the water-in-oil emulsion,

(b) forming a ground lean meat phase of high protein content and goodbinding capacity,

(c) dispersing droplets of the water-in-oil emulsion formed in step (a)substantially evenly throughout the lean meat phase of step (b);

(d) grinding the mixture to optionally release myosin from the lean meatphase to set up a duplex emulsion, alternatively if the myosin is notreleased a satisfactory mixture may also result; and

(e) heat setting the combined emulsion.

In accordance with this invention, it is preferred that the fat contentof the product be in the range of 5% to 40% by weight, and that a majorportion of the fat be supplied by the water-in-oil emulsion formed instep (a). It is further preferred that the lean meat of step (b) and thewater-in-oil emulsion of step (a) be combined in the relativeproportion, by weight, of 9 to 1, however, a broader range ofproportions, e.g., about 1.5 to 1, to about 9 to 1 may be used. The meatproduct may be induced to set by heating, either by the producer or theconsumer, but the product of this invention preferably is heat set.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The products with which the present invention is concerned are meatproducts which may contain a substantial level of fat in order to obtaindesired eating characteristics. Examples of such products include groundmeat products such as ground chopped meats for use in hamburgers, meatloaf and meat patties; sausage and sausage patties, breakfast sausage;Italian sausage; luncheon meats such as salami; and emulsion basedsausages. This invention will be further described in terms of groundmeat products, such as hamburgers, meat patties, breakfast sausage,sausage, and sausage patties, but it is understood to apply to allproducts of the type described above.

In an embodiment of this invention, the first step in the processinvolves the preparation of a water-in-oil emulsion which utilizes a fatas a continuous phase, and a gelled or immobilized aqueous meat brothprepared by an aqueous extraction of meat with a high percentage ofconnective tissue. Optionally, salt or other flavoring agent may beused. This immobilized meat broth is a discontinuous aqueous phase inthe emulsion. It is theorized that the collagen in the broth stabilizesthe emulsion while entraining, if present, the salt or other flavoringingredient, either dissolved or as a dispersed particle, and where theproducts are eaten cold, will have the same taste and texturalimpression as given by fat. The collagen which may be present in theinvention and food grade fats melt on the tongue at roughly comparabletemperatures thus allowing the entrained salt or other flavoring agentto be delivered directly to the taste receptors as a burst at the melttemperature of the gelled meat broth.

It is preferred that sufficient collagen be present to ensure that theemulsion droplets contain the gelled meat broth at room temperaturebelow 70° F. to 75 ° F. Thus, the collagen present in the meat brothshould be in an amount higher than the minimum necessary to form agelled meat broth at the solidification temperature of the fat phase. Onthe other hand, too high a level of collagen will result in a tough,rubbery product which will not fully melt on the tongue at roomtemperature. The precise amount of collagen is not critical, and in theusual case, amounts ranging from 0.5% to 9% by weight of the meat brothwill be satisfactory. The optimum amount of collagen is in the range of2% to 5% by weight of the meat broth in the water-in-oil emulsion with alevel of 3% on the same basis being preferred.

The meat broth is prepared by extracting selected meat with a highpercentage of connective tissue in water at substantially neutral pH andat elevated temperatures. Normally, the meat is comminulect and added towater at ambient temperature. The temperature is then raised to 150° F.to 190° F. for about 1/2 to 4 hours, preferably 1/2 to 1 hour.

The meat selected is either beef or pork preferably containing 5% to 60%by weight of connective tissue. This meat is obtained from a selectionprocess where better grades of meat are separated out and the gristlecontaining meat is designated as scrap. This scrap meat is used toprepare the meat broth. Pork is extracted at lower temperatures of 150°F. to 160° F.; beef at higher temperatures of about 190° F. Although notnecessary, it is preferred, for reasons of microbiological stability andin some cases, the enhancement of flavor impact, for the meat broth tocontain salt and if desired, other flavoring agents such as monosodiumglutamate (MSG), ribotide spices, spice extracts, HVP, sugar andspecific flavorants such as Bar-B-Q, grill and the like. Accordingly, ifdesired, sodium chloride may be added to the meat broth at this stage ata level of 0.1% to 8% by weight, preferably a level of 2% by weight ofthe aqueous meat broth. The mixture, is then heated and stirred untilall the meat broth material and salt, if used, has been dissolved andthe optional flavoring agent, if any, dispersed. The broth can then, ifdesired and not already accomplished, be pasteurized. Volatile flavoringagents such as beef flavor will usually be added after pasteurizationunless a closed system to retain volatiles is employed.

The temperature of the broth is reduced under agitation to 75° F. to 95°F., preferably 80° F. Agitation prevents the broth from gelling andmakes it available for the production of the water-in-oil emulsion.

The fat component of the water-in-oil emulsion phase may be any ediblefat compatible with the processed meat being produced includingvegetable fat or oil, or hydrogenated fish oil, if desired. Theprincipal source of the fat is usually trimmings off the carcass andthese trimmings can have a fat content ranging from 50% to 100%. Theamount of non-fat material present is limited to that amount which willstill allow the oil-in-water emulsion to form. This, of course, dependson the type of fat and non-fat material. As a practical source,trimmings of 50% lean/50% fat to 15% lean/85% fat from either beef orpork are used as they are standard articles of commerce.

The meat trimmings used as a source of fat are initially ground, forexample, through a 1/4 to 1/2 inch grinding plate, at 38° F. to 45° F.The ground trimmings are then comminuted in a high speed blender, suchas a Stephen Vertical-Cutter/Mixer model VTC400 operated at either 1800or 3600 rpm. Intermediate ranges are of course permissible. Fat-richbeef trimmings are typically comminuted at 3600 rpm at a temperature of66° F. to 70° F. until a creamy, plastic, fat continuous phase has beenestablished. Fat-rich pork trimmings, on the other hand, are typicallycomminuted at 1800 rpm at a temperature of 55° F. to 57° F. To ensurethat a continuous fat phase has been achieved, conductivity of the phaseis tested, with a conductivity of 0 to 15 mhos being indicative of acontinuous fat phase.

The water-in-oil emulsion is next prepared by combining the meat brothwith the comminuted fat-rich meat trimmings. The broth may be added to aStephen Vertical-Cutter/Mixer at a steady rate, while the mixture isbeing comminuted at 1800 rpm. The temperature of the broth when added ispreferably at 80° F. to 90° F. After all the broth has been added,comminution continues until the temperature reaches 80° F. to 90° F. forbeef and 75° F. to 85° F. for pork.

The formation of a stable water-in-oil emulsion is confirmed byconductivity measurement and microscopic examination. The emulsion isdischarged from the Stephen Vertical-Cutter/Mixer and its temperaturelowered to allow the fat to solidify and the aqueous meat broth phase toreach a gelled or immobilized state. Generally, the temperature islowered to 20° F. to 30° F. Preferably the material is frozen. This maybe accomplished by any convenient method. It is particularly importantto insure that the tempering and how it is done does not break theemulsion.

Other suitable edible fats which may be used in the practice of thisinvention include various animal and vegetable fats and hydrogenatedfish oil. The water-in-oil emulsion can be made using solid vegetableshortening or combinations of vegetable shortenings and chicken fat.

In the final emulsion state, a finely dispersed aqueous meat brothcomprising 0.5% to 9% collagen, up to 8% salt or other flavorant, andsome of the soluble protein from the lean phase of the fat-richtrimmings is uniformly surrounded by a fat coating. The finalcomposition varies based on the proportions of starting ingredients andthe fat content. A high fat content will result in a low moisturecontent while a low fat content will result in a higher moisturecontent. The aggregation of these finely dispersed emulsion dropletsproduces a continuous fat phase. The solidification of the fat phase andthe gelling of the meat broth produces a stable emulsion, which to thetongue is perceived as only fat. The latent heat of the tongue issufficient to melt the fat coating and the gelled meat broth whilemaintaining the perception of only fat. The melting of this emulsiondirectly releases the salt or flavoring solution or dispersion to thetaste receptors thus enhancing taste perception.

In accordance with the second stage of preparing products of thisinvention, a lean meat of high protein content and good binding capacityis prepared using any of several prior art procedures. Chunks of meatsuch as bull meat, boneless primal cuts of cattle, hogs, veal, sheep, aswell as chicken or turkey, or other cuts or mixtures thereof, may beemployed. In accordance with one preferred embodiment, beef or porktrimmings having 78-92% lean meat, with the balance fat, are coarseground at 36° F. to 42° F. through a 1/2 to 1 inch plate in a Wolfkinggrinder. Solid carbon dioxide is preferably employed to ensure that themeat stays in the temperature range cited.

In a like manner, the frozen water-in-oil emulsion is similarly coarseground under the conditions cited above. Generally at 10° F. to 30° F.,and preferably at 20° F. to 30° F., the coarsely ground water-in-oilemulsion and the coarsely ground high protein content meat are combinedin proportions sufficient to provide a final ground meat produot wherethe water-in-oil emulsion represents from 3% to 30% of the formulacontent of the finished product. The resulting blend is then preferablyground to its final particle size through a 1/8 to 1/4 inch plate. Theground meat mixture is then heat set and made into patties or shapedinto final sausage products. While sufficient shear may be imposed onthe mixture during mixing to provide myosin this is, by no means,critical to the final product as satisfactory products also resultwithout producing substantial quantities of myosin.

The patties or sausages made by this process can be either frozendirectly or precooked for delivery to the end user. It is noted that theprocess of this invention, upon cooking of the patty or sausage providesfor more juiciness and less product shrinkage with an enhanced meattaste.

All parts and proportions herein are by weight unless otherwiseindicated.

The invention will be further described in the following examples.

EXAMPLE 1 Procedure for Extracting Meat Broth

The objective is to determine the optimum cooking time and temperatureneeded to extract beef connective tissue to produce a high gel strength.75 grams of ground partially defatted beef tissue was weighed out into a250 gram beaker. At a 1:11/2 solid to water dilution ratio, 112.5 gramsof water was added to the beaker and the solids within. Using twostainless steel pots, a double boiler was set up. Both pots were filledwith 11/2 cups of warm water. When the temperature had reached 190° F.,the 1:11/2 dilution ratio mash, in its beaker, was placed in the innervessel and covered to avoid excessive water loss due to evaporation.

After four hours of cooking, during which water was added to bothvessels to maintain their levels, the mash was removed from the beakerand was strained through double layered cheese cloth allowing the brothto pass through into another beaker. This allowed the broth filtrate topass while holding back large proteinacious particles. The particleswere wrapped in the cheese cloth and squeezed so that all the brothcould be obtained from the protein mash.

The broth was then placed in a separatory funnel and allowed to separatefor one hour. Heat was applied externally onto the lower area of thefunnel to inhibit the solidification of the fat, which rose to the topof the funnel.

The separated broth was then filtered and the liquor was brought to roomtemperature. At this time, duplicate refractometer readings were takenand recorded. The broth was then placed into a cold water bath to age itfor 16 to 18 hours at a temperature of 10° C. After the allotted time,the gel strength was determined by using a Voland-Stevens TextureAnalyzer. This process was repeated using 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 hour parametersin duplicate all at 190° F., and with a separation time of one hour.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        Beef Tissue Data                                                                                                  Average Gel                                                           %       Strength (In                              Dilution                                                                             Time    Temperature (°F.)                                                                   BX = TC Grams)                                    ______________________________________                                        1:1-1/2                                                                              1 hour  190          4.1     39                                        1:1-1/2                                                                              2 hours 190          4.5     57                                        1:1-1/2                                                                              3 hours 190          5.0     68                                        1:1-1/2                                                                              4 hours 190          6.7     149                                       1:1-1/2                                                                              5 hours 190          5.3       74.2                                    ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 2 Pork Tissue Reduction/Extraction

The frozen pork tissue was tempered in the refrigerator over a 4 dayperiod. The blocks of semi-frozen tissue were cut into squares of 5-6"pieces, bagged and again refrigerated over night. Approximately 124 lbs.of tissue were prepared for extraction. A sample of the tissue wascooked to evaluate the strength of the pork broth using two dilutionratios, (1:1 & 1:11/2). The appropriate dilution ratio for this materialwas determined to be a 1:1 ratio of tissue to water.

Thermal Processing Steps

The pork tissue was divided into two equal parts, one portion of 62# wasreduced in a bowl chopper to a fine particle size, and then added to aswept surface jacketed Lee kettle. Initially, the temperature was set at150°-160° F. for the first 1/2 hour. However, due to problems ofremoving the pork tissue from the liquid, the temperature fluctuatedbetween 150°-190° F. during the three hour run.

Separation Process

The mash was drained from the kettle into a sieve and the broth waspressed out. This method increased fines in the broth which resulted insome plug-ups in the Westfalia centrifuge (model #KA206). The centrifugewas fed from an insulated tank in which the temperature of the broth wasmaintained at 105°-115° F. This process yielded a total of 94 lbs. ofpork broth.

EXAMPLE 3 Procedure for Making Water-in-Oil Emulsions

A. Preparation of beef water-in-oil emulsions

An aqueous meat broth is prepared in in Example 1. Salt (sodiumchloride) at a level of 2% by weight of the aqueous broth is added. Thecomponents are fully dissolved by agitation, and the solution is thenbrought to 150° F. for a period of 15 minutes and then cooled down.

Beef trimmings containing 70% fat and 30% lean meat are ground bypassage through a 1/4 inch grinding plate using a Wolfking mixer/grinderequipped with a sinew and bone eliminator. The ground trimmings are thenplaced in a Stephen Vertical-Cutter/Mixer, Model VTC400, made by theStephen Food Technology Corp. of Germany. The Stephen Cutter is operatedat 3600 rpm for 4 to 7 minutes, raising the temperature of the groundtrimmings prepared above to 60° F.-70° F. The comminuted fat rich meathas a creamy, plastic appearance, and when conductivity is measured, itwill be less than 15 mho.

The aqueous meat broth, prepared above is cooled to a temperature of 80°F.-90° F. and then added at a constant rate to the Stephen Cutter andcombined with the comminuted trimmings in the proportions by weight of60% aqueous gelatin solution and 40% of the comminuted trimmings. Thecutter/mixer is operated at 1800 rpm during this addition for a periodof 4 to 6 minutes. This time will depend upon the amount of broth to beadded. After the addition of all the broth, the cutter/mixer is allowedto run at 1800 rpm until the temperature of the product reaches 84°F.-88° F. A smooth, creamy white product is obtained. This product,under microscopic examination and conductivity measurements reading0.00-15.0 mho, is confirmed to be a water-in-oil emulsion.

The product is discharged from the mixer/cutter and packaged. Theproduct may be placed into casing employing a VEMAG meat stuffer, andthen frozen by passing the stuffed casing through a glycol bath. If theproduct were to be boxed it would be frozen by placing the material in ablast freezer.

The water-in-oil emulsion has the following typical analysis:

    ______________________________________                                               Protein         5.17%                                                         Moisture       64.94%                                                         Fat            28.60%                                                         Salt            1.29%                                                  ______________________________________                                    

B. Preparation of pork water-in-oil emulsions

An aqueous meat broth is prepared as in Example 2. Salt (sodiumchloride) at a level of 2% by weight of the aqueous broth is added. Thecomponents are fully dissolved by agitation, and the solution is thenbrought to 150° F. for a period of 15 minutes and cooled down.

Pork trimmings containing 50%-80% fat (the optimum fat concentration forthe pork is 60-72%) and lean meat are ground by passage through a 1/4inch grinding plate using a Wolfking mixer/grinder equipped with a sinewand bone eliminator. The ground trimmings are then placed in a StephenVertical-Cutter/Mixer, Model VTC400. The Stephen Cutter is operated at1800 rpm for 3 to 5 minutes, raising the temperature of the groundtrimmings prepared above to between 55° F.-60° F. The comminuted fatrich meat has a creamy, plastic appearance, and when conductivity ismeasured, the conductivity will be less than 15 mho.

The aqueous meat broth prepared above, is cooled to a temperature of 80°F.-90° F. and then added at a constant rate to the Stephen Cutter andcombined with the comminuted trimmings in the proportion by weight of60% broth and 40% of the comminuted trimmings. The cutter/mixer isoperated at 1800 rpm during this addition for a period of 4 to 6minutes. This time will depend upon the amount of broth to be added.After the addition of all the broth, the cutter/mixer is allowed to runat 1800 rpm until the temperature of the product reaches 77° F.-81° F. Asmooth, creamy white product is obtained which, under microscopicexamination and conductivity measurements reading 0.00-15.0 mho, isconfirmed to be a water-in-oil emulsion.

The product is discharged from the mixer/cutter and packaged off eitherinto boxes or casing for further use. Product placed into casing employsa VEMAG meat stuffer, and is then frozen by passing the casing through aglycol bath. Boxed product is frozen by placing the material in a blastfreezer.

The water-in-oil emulsion has the following typical analysis:

    ______________________________________                                               Protein         6.03%                                                         Moisture       65.45%                                                         Fat            28.24%                                                         Salt            1.30%                                                  ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 4 Preparation and Evaluation of Ground Beef Patties

The beef water-in-oil emulsion prepared in Example 3 is used to prepareground beef patties. The emulsion is frozen and ground through a 1/2inch plate. Combinations of beef trimmings are used to prepare a finalpatty. The designation of the beef trimmings varies depending on theamount of lean beef, for example, 93% lean beef and 75% lean beef areused in the Sample A control. The lean beef trimmings are ground througha 1/2 inch plate at a temperature of 38° F. The typical weightpercentage of the designated lean beef in each patty and the weightpercentage of the beef, water-in-oil emulsions are listed below for thevarious comparisons made:

    ______________________________________                                                              INVENTIVE PATTY                                                               WITH BEEF WATER-IN-                                     CONTROL               OIL EMULSION                                            DESIGNATION                                                                              WT. %      DESIGNATION  WT. %                                      ______________________________________                                        SAMPLE A. 10% FAT CONTENT BEEF PATTIES                                        93% Lean Beef                                                                            83.1%      93% Lean Beef                                                                                85.7%                                    75% Lean Beef                                                                            16.9%      Emulsion (fat                                                                              14.3                                                             content ≈ 28%)                                  SAMPLE B. 22% FAT CONTENT BEEF PATTIES                                        91% Lean Beef                                                                            20%        91% Lean Beef                                                                              55%                                        75% Lean Beef                                                                            80%        75% Lean Beef                                                                              25%                                                              Emulsion (fat                                                                              20%                                                              content ≈ 28%)                                  ______________________________________                                    

The mixtures of meats are blended in a ribbon mixer, and then groundthrough a 5/32 inch plate at a final temperature of 30° F.-32° F. Theground meats are formed into 3.8 ounce patties on a Hollymatic.

The formed patties are weighed to provide side by side cookingcomparisons. The patties are cooked for 2 minutes on each side on a flatgrill preheated to 350° F., which ensures an internal cook temperatureof 160° F. The cooked patties are evaluated for shrink (weight lossduring cooking), juiciness, texture and flavor.

Upon evaluation the products made with the water-in-oil emulsion areexpected to be of comparable texture to the control, with greaterjuiciness and more meat flavor. For the 10% fat content patties, thecontrol exhibits a cook yield of 86.3% while the water-in-oil emulsioncontaining patties are expected to show a higher cook yield. Likewise,the cook yields for the 22% fat products are 79.7% for the control andare expected to be higher for the water-in-oil emulsion containingpatties.

EXAMPLE 5 Preparation and Evaluation of Ground Pork Patties

The pork water-in-oil emulsion prepared in Example 1 is used to prepareground pork patties. The emulsion is ground frozen through a 1/2 inchplate. As in Example 2, combinations of lean pork trimmings are used toprepare the final patty. The designation of the pork trimmings variesdepending on the amount of lean pork. The lean pork trimmings are groundthrough a 1/2 inch plate at a temperature of 32° F.-38° F. The typicalweight percentage of the designated lean pork in each patty and thetypical weight percentage of the pork water-in-oil emulsions are listedbelow for the various comparisons:

    ______________________________________                                                              INVENTIVE PATTY                                                               WITH PORK WATER-IN-                                     CONTROL               OIL EMULSION                                            DESIGNATION                                                                              WT. %      DESIGNATION  WT. %                                      ______________________________________                                        SAMPLE C. 10% FAT CONTENT PORK PATTIES                                        94% Lean Pork                                                                            90%        94% Lean Pork                                                                              80%                                        64% Lean Pork                                                                            10%        Emulsion (fat                                                                              20%                                                              content ≈ 28%)                                  SAMPLE D. 15% FAT CONTENT PORK PATTIES                                        94% Lean Pork                                                                            70%        94% Lean Pork                                                                              65%                                        64% Lean Pork                                                                            30%        63% Lean Pork                                                                              15%                                                              Emulsion (fat                                                                              20%                                                              content ≈ 28%)                                  SAMPLE E. 37% FAT CONTENT PORK PATTIES                                        63% Lean Pork                                                                            100%       63% Lean Pork                                                                              90%                                                              Emulsion (fat                                                                              10%                                                              content ≈ 28%)                                  ______________________________________                                    

The mixtures of meats are blended in a ribbon mixer, and then groundthrough a 1/4 inch plate at a final temperature of 28° F.-30° F. Theground meats are formed into 3.8 ounce patties on a Hollymatic, and thecomposition of the patties is confirmed by analysis.

The formed patties are weighed out for side by side cooking comparisons.The patties are cooked for 3 minutes on each side on a flat grillpreheated to 350° F., which ensures an internal cook temperature of 160°F. The cooked patties are evaluated for shrink (weight loss duringcooking), juiciness, texture and flavor.

Upon evaluation the products made with the inventive water-in-oilemulsion are expected to have a comparable texture to the control, andto have greater juiciness and more meat flavor.

EXAMPLE 6

Salami and pepperoni products are prepared by the following procedure:

The beef water-in-oil emulsion prepared as set forth in Example 3 is cutinto slabs or disks while still in the frozen state.

In a separate procedure, beef trimmings having 70%-90% lean meat areadded to a Laska Bowl Chopper, where they are chopped with sodiumchloride, 0.5%-1.0%, sodium nitrite as Prague Powder at 0.25% and sodiumerythorbate at 0.0361%, all by weight of the finished product. Themixture is chopped for 1-3 minutes at 35° F.-45° F. The frozenwater-in-oil emulsion prepared above is added to the chopped mixture atthe meat emulsion temperature, seasoning for the particular variety inquestion is added, and chopping is continued for an additional 1-2minutes to produce a coarse chopped product. The amount of thewater-in-oil emulsion added depends upon the requirement of a full fator reduced fat product. The coarse chopped, comminuted mixture, salamior pepperoni depending upon the seasoning used, is then run into thehopper of a continuous stuffing machine. The mixture is stuffed into 78mm synthetic casing and the large links run through a commercial smokehouse according to the following approximate schedule: 130° F. for 20minutes; 150° F. for 1 hour, 30 minutes; and 180° F. until an internaltemperature of 155° F.-160° F. is attained. The temperature of thesmokehouse is then lowered to slowly dry out the product. The product istransferred to a drying room for a period of time sufficient to reducethe moisture content of the product and reduce the moisture activitybelow 0.84.

Upon evaluation, the salami and pepperoni produced by this procedure areexpected to be of high quality, succulent and have excellent taste,texture and appearance.

EXAMPLE 7 Manufacture of 10% Frankfurters

The formulas A and B below were used to formulate two frankfurtersgenerally according to Example 6. All standard procedures were followedto manufacture the frankfurters. Standard thermal processing procedureswhere followed. An average smoke house shrinkage of 16.4% was achieved.The CEM analysis was done for fats/moisture on the control andantioxidant franks. Results were 9.29% and 9.31% for fats, and moistureswere 70.25% and 70.96% respectively.

    ______________________________________                                        Formula A                                                                                                       Total % of                                                                    Frankfurter                                 Meat Block % Lean    Total Wt. in #                                                                             Emulsion                                    ______________________________________                                        Lean Beef  95        30.45        46.99                                       LET**                                                                         **Beef Trimmings 4.55         7.02                                            **Salt           0.14         0.20                                            **Cure           0.01         0.01                                            Broth            6.73         10.38                                           Total LET        11.37*        17.52***                                       ______________________________________                                         *Including 4.55 # in Beef Trimmings                                           ***Including 7.02% for Beef Trimmings                                    

                              Total %                                                                       of Frankfurter                                      Meat Block   Total Wt. in #                                                                             Emulsion                                            ______________________________________                                        Salt         0.67         1.03                                                KCl          0.35         0.54                                                Tripolyphosphate                                                                           0.11         0.16                                                (33.0% Na)                                                                    Seasoning:July                                                                             0.68         1.03                                                Charoil      0.03         0.04                                                Water        19.60        30.25                                               Corn Syrup Solids                                                                          0.87         1.34                                                Dextrose     0.56         0.86                                                Sodium Erythorbate                                                                         0.02         0.03                                                Cure         0.08         0.12                                                Total Ingredients                                                                           64.79#      100%                                                ______________________________________                                    

    ______________________________________                                        Formula B                                                                                                       Total % of                                                                    Frankfurter                                 Meat Block % Lean    Total Wt. in #                                                                             Emulsiont                                   ______________________________________                                        Lean Beef  95        21.75        46.98                                       LET                                                                           **Beef Trimmings 3.25         7.02                                            **Salt           0.10         0.21                                            **Cure           0.01         0.02                                            **Broth          4.80         10.37                                           Total LET         8.13*        17.55***                                       ______________________________________                                         *Including 3.25# of Beef Trimmings                                            ***Including 7.02% for Beef Trimmings                                    

    Salt                0.48    1.03                                              Lite Salt (50/50 NaCl/KCl)                                                                        0.25    0.54                                              Tripolyphosphate (33.0%                                                                           0.08    0.17                                              Na)                                                                           Seasoning:July      0.49    1.05                                              Charoil             0.02    0.04                                              Water               14.00   30.24                                             Corn Syrup Solids   0.62    1.33                                              Dextrose            0.40    0.86                                              Sodium Erythorbate  0.01    0.02                                              Cure                0.06    0.12                                              Total Ingredients   46.29   100                                               ______________________________________                                    

It should be understood that the specific forms of the invention hereinillustrated and described are intended to be representative only.Changes, including but not limited to those suggested in thisspecification, may be made in the illustrated embodiments withoutdeparting from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly,reference should be made to the following appended claims in determiningthe full scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of preventing excessive cooking yieldloss and enhancing the flavor of a ground or chopped meat product bylowering the concentration of auxiliary ingredients necessary to obtaina perceived flavor change in said products after cooking comprising:(a)comminuting lean meat to prepare a lean meat mixture and controllingsaid comminuting to form a continuous heat-settable lean meat phase; (b)adjusting the temperature of said lean meat phase to 30° F. to 40° F.;(c) preparing a water-in-oil emulsion having a continuous phasecontaining edible fat and a discontinuous aqueous phase containing agellable meat broth; (d) hardening said water-in-oil emulsion byreducing the temperature thereof to 20° F. to 30° F.; (e) mixing thelean meat phase of (b) and the hardened emulsion of (d) at a temperatureof 10° F. to 30° F. to produce said ground or chopped meat product; andthen (f) heating said product at a temperature sufficiently high and fora sufficient length of time to achieve an internal temperature of 155°F.-165° F., thereby heat setting said product.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the lean meat mixture is comminuted to form a coarse groundmixture, the emulsion of step (c) is comminuted to form coarsely groundparticles, and both coarsely ground materials are mixed and heated toform a heat set mixture.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the ground orchopped meat product is a heat set meat batter at least substantiallybound by compression.
 4. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein thehardened water-in-oil emulsion is prepared by:(i) forming an aqueousdispersion of:(a) meat extract to prepare a meat broth; (b) optionalflavorants and flavor enhancers selected from the group consisting ofsodium chloride, potassium chloride, sodium phosphate, potassiumphosphate, monosodium glutamate, ribotide, spices, spice extracts,hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), sugar, specific flavorants andmixtures thereof; and (c) optional emulsifiers; (ii) optionallypasteurizing the broth; (iii) controlling the temperature of the brothto 75° F.-85° F. with mixing and holding for future use; (iv) preparingat a temperature of about 38° F. to 45° F. an edible fat component,containing 50% to 100% fat by:(a) grinding and reducing the temperatureof meat trimmings to reduce the particle size thereof; (b) furtherreducing the particle size of said meat trimmings by high shear cuttingcombined with temperature control to form a creamy, continuous plasticfat phase having a conductivity of 0.00 to 15.0 mho, wherein thetemperature of said meat trimmings is dependent on the type of meat, thetemperature for pork being controlled at 55° F. to 65° F. and thetemperature for beef being controlled at 50° F. to 70° F.; (v) combiningthe meat broth with the continuous plastic fat phase by shearing the fatphase and slowly adding the meat broth while keeping the temperaturethereof below about 95° F. to form a water-in-oil emulsion; and then(vi) lowering the temperature of said emulsion to 20° F.-30° F. tosolidify the fat and gel the meat broth.
 5. The method as defined inclaim 4, wherein the meat broth has a gel strength of 10-60.
 6. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the hardened water-in-oil emulsion has a saltconcentration of up to 8%.
 7. A product prepared by the process of claim4.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the lean meat is chopped or groundmeat.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the water-in-oil emulsion isfinely dispersed in the continuous lean meat phase by chopping orgrinding.
 10. A product prepared by the method of claim 1 comprising acontinuous phase of heat set lean meat and a discontinuous phase,wherein the discontinuous phase includes the major fat content of theproduct as particles of water-in-oil emulsion and immobilized salt. 11.A product as defined in claim 10, wherein the meat product is groundbeef or beef patties.
 12. A product as defined in claim 10, wherein themeat product is ground pork sausage patties.
 13. A product as defined inclaim 10, wherein the meat product is salami or pepperoni.